Guggenheim Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 46.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,013 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,438 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $3,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 17.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 81.29% of the company’s stock.
A number of research firms recently commented on SCI. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their target price on Service Co. International from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Service Co. International from $75.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday.
In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 10,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $729,399.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total value of $76,884.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,471 shares of company stock valued at $1,062,453 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
SCI opened at $58.95 on Friday. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $45.63 and a 1-year high of $71.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.22 and a 200-day moving average of $64.69.
Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, February 13th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.20. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 19.59%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Service Co. International’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 15th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.87%.
Service Co. International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 10th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Service Co. International Profile
Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the following segments: Funeral and Cemetery. The Funeral segment offers professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, cremations, memorialization and catering.
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